Keen sculptor at 92 and Rajasthan state leg-spinner, who figured in six unsuccessful Ranji Trophy finals against Mumbai, was privileged to be Sunil Gavaskar’s guest at a function in BKC last week

CG Joshi at function in Mumbai last week. Pic/Clayton Murzello

In early 2000, I asked former BCCI president and Rajasthan state captain, Raj Singh Dungarpur why he skipped a function involving past and present Mumbai Ranji Trophy and Test players at the Cricket Club of India, where Dungarpur held sway as president of the club.

He offered no time-related excuses, but said: “After ending up on the losing side in seven Ranji Trophy finals against those players, I didn’t want to open old wounds for myself.”

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Last week, 92-year-old CG Joshi, the leg-spinner who figured in six of those finals for Rajasthan, had no such qualms in meeting his Mumbai opponents. He undertook a road journey from Pune to attend a party organised by Sunil Gavaskar at Bandra Kurla Complex. There were a few Mumbai players at the party whom he combated in those national championship finals — Gavaskar of course, Milind Rege, Abdul Ismail and Ajit Pai.

Joshi’s arrival at the party venue was highly awaited by Suresh Shastri, his Rajasthan teammate, who went on to become an international umpire. Later, Joshi presented a bouquet to host Gavaskar and spent time with his early contemporaries in first-class cricket—fellow Chandus—Borde and Patankar, who sat alongside Nari Contractor. When Contractor signalled his........

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